JP2001320471A - Automatic telephone message recorder - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To solve a problem such that a conventional automatic telephone message recorder cannot have sufficiently managed messages because the conventional automatic telephone message recorder has only managed messages in the unit of caller numbers under a present state where the number of people each having a plurality of telephone numbers is increasing due to spread of mobile phones. SOLUTION: A telephone number storage section 17 stores names of people whose incoming calls are expected, telephone numbers including character mail addresses of each people, and classification names of the telephone numbers which making them correspond to each other. An incoming call history storage section 16 temporarily stores information of calls arrived during an automatic telephone message recording mode. A control section 12 stores a message from a caller in the automatic telephone message recording mode into a storage section 15, retrieves whether or not a caller number reported from a line interface section 11 is stored in the storage section 17, and stores the incoming call information into an area of the storage section 16 for a caller with the caller number when stored. Thus, the incoming call storage section 16 stores the incoming call information for each caller number of management.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an answering machine, and more particularly to an answering machine for recording a message of a caller.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In an answering machine for recording a voice message from a caller, an incoming call from the same caller is received a plurality of times, and a voice message from another caller is recorded between those voice messages. Even if it is, only the voice message from the same caller is continuously played back, and in order to be able to easily grasp the message content, the message message is managed for each same caller number,
There is known an answering machine in which a message message is reproduced for each same caller number (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-17 / 1999).
7678, JP-A-11-177675).

[0003]

However, in recent years, the number of individuals having a plurality of telephone numbers has been increasing due to the spread of mobile phones and the like, and in such a situation, the above-described conventional answering machine has been described. Cannot manage the message sufficiently because it only manages the message for each caller number.

That is, in the above answering machine, 1
A case in which a plurality of telephone numbers are registered for one registered name is not taken into consideration, and messages having different caller telephone numbers are separately managed and played back. If the incoming call arrives in the order of caller 2 home, caller 1 mobile phone, and caller 1 home, and each of them leaves a message, the conventional answering machine based only on the caller telephone number is: (1) Two messages from a mobile phone, (2) One message from a sender 2 home, (3) One message from a sender 1 home, and (1) Sender 1 (mobile phone) (2 messages + 1 message from home), 3 messages in total, and (2) sender 2 message from 1 message cannot be sorted and reproduced in this order.

Further, with the spread of facsimile (FAX), personal computer (PC), and telephones having an electronic mail (text mail) function, information (text mail, fax, etc.) other than voice messages may enter the telephone. However, it has not been considered that the information (voice, text mail, facsimile, etc.) for each sender is collectively notified to the user of the telephone until now. For example, the voice message of the sender 1 and the text mail received from the mail address of the sender 1 are separately notified.

Further, information (voice, text mail,
If there is more than one caller who has left (FAX information), the user does not easily know which caller's information is urgent and the callback to the message sender will hear all the answering messages Therefore, there was no choice but to judge the priority.

[0007] The present invention has been made in view of the above points,
An object of the present invention is to provide an answering machine that can be collectively managed in consideration of a case where a plurality of telephone numbers are registered for one registered name.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an answering machine capable of collectively notifying various information (voice, text mail, FAX information, etc.) from the same sender.

Still another object of the present invention is to collectively notify the user of information (voice, text mail, FAX information, etc.) recorded during absence for each sender in accordance with the priority order such as urgency. To provide an answering machine that can be obtained.

[0010]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a means for detecting when a caller number of an incoming call is notified, and a second means for storing a message and a text message. 1 storage unit, the name of each person who is supposed to receive an incoming call, one or more telephone numbers including the character mail address of each person, and the classification names of the telephone numbers are stored in advance in association with each other. A second storage unit, a third storage unit for temporarily storing information of a call arriving during the answering machine mode, and a business message from a caller during the answering machine mode to the first storage unit. In addition, when the caller number is notified from the caller by the detecting means, it is searched whether the caller number is stored in the second storage unit, and when the caller number is stored, the caller name having the caller number Incoming call information in the area of the third storage unit for When the caller number is not stored in the second storage unit, there is provided control means for storing the incoming call information in an area of the third storage unit as unregistered, and a display unit for displaying the incoming call information. The incoming call information is stored and managed in the third storage unit for each caller name.

In the present invention, the incoming information is stored and managed in the third storage unit for each of the caller names, so that even if one caller has a plurality of telephone numbers, each caller has a different telephone number. Rather than classifying incoming calls from telephone numbers and mail addresses separately, they can be managed collectively as incoming information from the same caller, and stored in the first storage unit for the user of the answering machine. It is possible to collectively notify the message messages from the same sender.

[0012] Further, the present invention achieves the above object,
The control means determines that the caller number notified from the detection means is the second
When the information is stored in the storage unit, the incoming call time, the notified caller number, the classification name of the telephone number obtained from the second storage unit, the use information from the caller in the first storage unit The message storage location is stored in the third storage unit, and when the caller number notified from the detection unit is not stored in the second storage unit, the arrival time as unregistered arrival information;
The notified caller number, the storage location of the message from the caller in the first storage unit, and the identification number indicating the unregistered number are stored in an area of the third storage unit.

[0013] In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides
When the control means reproduces the message stored in the first storage unit, the sender of the message reproduced according to a predetermined priority from among the caller numbers stored in the third storage unit A first step of determining a name and a second step of sequentially reproducing all of the business messages stored in the first storage unit of the sender name determined in the first step, in a third step. A means for repeating all history information stored in the storage unit.

According to the present invention, at the time of reproducing the message, the name of the sender of the message to be reproduced is determined in accordance with a predetermined priority from among the telephone numbers stored in the third storage unit. All message messages with the caller name can be played in priority order.

Further, according to the present invention, when the control unit reproduces the business message stored in the first storage unit, the control unit may determine whether or not the caller number recorded in the third storage unit is unregistered. By displaying only the caller ID and incoming time on the display unit, and displaying only the incoming time on the display unit for the caller number recorded as non-notification, the user can be notified whether the number is unregistered or not notified. It can be easily determined. Here, the first storage unit may further store at least one of the number of sheets of facsimile reception, the number of times of reception, and facsimile image data as data, and the second storage unit may also store a facsimile telephone number. .

Further, in order to achieve the above object, the present invention has an operation unit for performing a callback operation, and the control means receives a callback operation input from the operation unit during reproduction of the message. A third step of detecting whether there is;
When the callback operation input is detected, the fourth party determines the callback destination number only when the caller number of the message being reproduced is notified in the incoming call information stored in the third storage unit. And a fifth step of, after detecting a callback operation input, playing back all the message messages being played or immediately suspending the playback of the message messages and starting a callback. I do.

According to the present invention, the operation of the callback can be performed during the reproduction of the message, so that the user of the answering machine confirms the message and determines whether or not to perform the callback. Can be determined.

According to the present invention, in order to achieve the above object, the determination of the callback destination number in the fourth step is performed when the sender name of the message being reproduced at the time of the callback operation is changed to the second name. 2 is not registered in the storage unit, the telephone number of the message sender is determined as a callback destination number, and when registered in the second storage unit, all of the registered sender names are registered. A telephone number is displayed on a display unit, and one telephone number selected using the operation unit is determined as a callback destination number.

According to the present invention, when a user wants to call back a caller who has left a business message in the first storage unit, the caller who has left the business message is registered in the second storage unit. All phone numbers are displayed on the display, and one of them can be selected as the number to call back, so the user can easily call other than the incoming phone number. Can be backed up (including text mail).

[0020]

Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows a configuration diagram of an embodiment of an answering machine according to the present invention. In the description of the present specification, “telephone number” includes “text mail address”. As shown in FIG. 1, an answering machine of this embodiment includes an analog telephone line, an integrated service digital network (ISDN), a wireless line such as mobile communication,
A line interface unit 11 such as a wired line such as a TV or an optical communication line, a control unit 12 for controlling each unit of the answering machine, and a liquid crystal display element (LC
D) and the like, an operation unit 14 as a key input unit such as a dial key, and a message storage unit 15 for storing a message and text mail.
And an incoming call history storage unit 16 for temporarily storing information on calls received during the answering machine mode, and a telephone number book storage unit 17
Etc.

The line interface unit 11 includes a caller number notification information detection and tone detection circuit. Control unit 12
Includes a speech synthesis unit that reads out a caller's name, text mail, and the like. The incoming call history storage unit 16 stores, as call information, an identification number (for example, a serial number assigned to each registrant in the telephone number book storage unit 17) indicating the sender of a received message message and text mail. The location (for example, a memory address) in the storage unit 15 where the incoming time, the caller number, the classification name of the telephone number, the business message, and the text mail are stored is temporarily stored. Phone number book storage 1
Reference numeral 7 stores in advance the name of each person who is expected to receive a call, one or more telephone numbers of each person, and the classification name of the telephone number in association with each other.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.
This will be described with reference to FIGS. First, a plurality of telephone numbers, fax numbers, e-mail addresses, etc. can be registered for one registrant.
A description will be given, with reference to FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, of collectively managing incoming calls from an X number or a mail address as “incoming calls from the same sender” instead of separately classifying the incoming calls.

First, when there is an incoming call from the calling side terminal 20 when the answering machine 21 on the receiving side in FIG. 2 sets the answering machine recording, the control unit via the line interface unit 11 in FIG. After a predetermined publicly known sequence with the message terminal 12, the message (including text mail) transmitted from the calling terminal 20 is stored in the free space of the message storage unit 15 (for example, recording of a reproduced message). Area).

At the same time, a search is made to determine whether the same caller number as the caller telephone number transmitted together with the call signal is registered in the telephone number book storage unit 17 in FIG. 1, and the same caller number is registered. Is searched for whether or not the incoming call history recording area for the sender is secured in the incoming call history storage unit 16. If the call history record area for the caller is not secured (if the caller first receives a call after entering the answering machine mode), the call history record area for the caller is stored in the call history storage unit. 16, a message storage unit 1 storing an identification number representing the caller, an arrival time, a caller number, a classification name of a telephone number, and a message.
The position (address) in 5 is stored.

On the other hand, if the incoming call history recording area for the caller is secured in the incoming call history storage section 16, the incoming time, the caller ID, and the telephone number classification are stored in the area following the previous incoming call information. A position (address) in the message storage unit 15 storing the name and the message is added. FIG.
2 is a recording area for the sender B secured in the incoming call history storage unit 16, 16b is a recording area for the sender D, and 16d is a recording area for the sender C in FIG.

If the same telephone number as the caller telephone number is not registered in the telephone number book storage section 17, it is searched whether the same caller telephone number is already recorded in the incoming call history storage section 16. The same caller telephone number has already been received
(If the caller's phone number has already been called after entering answering machine mode), the incoming time, caller ID, and message are stored after the incoming call information. The position (address) in the message storage 15 is added.

The same caller telephone number is stored in the incoming call history storage 16
Is not recorded in (when the answering machine mode is entered and the caller's phone number receives the first call)
Secures an incoming call history recording area for the caller telephone number in the incoming call history storage section 16 together with an identification number indicating "number not registered", and stores the incoming time, caller number, and message in the incoming call history recording area. Message storage unit 1 that stores
The position (address) in 5 is recorded (16c in FIG. 1).
Note that the identification number representing the caller and the classification name of the telephone number are identification numbers representing “number not registered”.

If the caller number is non-notification, a storage area is secured in the reception history storage section 16 together with an identification number indicating "number non-notification", and a message storage section 15 storing the reception time and the message. Is recorded (16e in FIG. 1). It should be noted that the identification number representing the caller, the caller number, and the classification name of the telephone number are the identification numbers representing “no-notification”.

Next, the operation when the user knows the priority such as the urgency from the order of the incoming call information to be reproduced will be described with reference to FIG.
And FIG. As described above, in this embodiment, incoming calls are collectively managed for each caller,
When notifying the user of the answering machine with the information (voice, text mail, fax image information, etc.) left in the answering machine, the following is provided to the user for each caller as follows.
Priorities can be assigned based on certain conditions, and by giving notifications in that order, the user can easily know the priorities, such as urgency, from the order of reproduced callers.

First, on the basis of the incoming call history information for each caller stored in the incoming call history storage section 16, the order of the callers to be reproduced is determined according to some conditions. Conditions for assigning priorities include, for example, the total number of incoming calls (including voice, text mail, and FAX information), the latest order of incoming times, the priorities of registered groups (work, friends, and family). In the example of FIG. 3, the priorities are determined in the order of sender B and sender D.

When the order of reproduction is determined, the business message recorded in the business message storage unit 15 is reproduced according to the order. Reproduction is performed, for example, by the following procedure. (1) The display unit 13 displays the call history information (such as the name of the caller, the time of the call, the caller number, and the telephone number classification) of the caller to be reproduced, which is recorded in the call history storage unit 16.
To be displayed. However, the name of the caller is obtained by searching the telephone number book storage unit 17 using the identification number representing the caller. If the identification number indicating the caller is “number not registered”, only the incoming time and the caller number are displayed. Similarly, if the identification number indicating the caller is “not notified of number”, only the incoming time is displayed. (2) The name of the caller is read out by the voice synthesis of the control unit 12. In the example of FIG. 3, the caller B and the caller D are read out. (3) The voice message left by the caller is played back in the order of incoming calls (= the order recorded in the incoming call history storage unit 16) regardless of the caller number such as home, mobile phone, or company. In the example of FIG. 3, since the message from the sender B arrives in the order of home, mobile phone, and text mail, it is reproduced in that order. If the telephone number type of the message is recorded in the incoming call history storage unit 16 before the message is reproduced, this is read out by the voice synthesis of the control unit 12. The display unit 13 informs the user of the message being played back by marking the incoming call history information indicating the message being played back or displaying it in reverse video. In the example of FIG. 3, the message being reproduced is marked with * to indicate that. (4) After playing back all the voice messages of the caller, search the received call history of the same caller for the phone number type of the text mail. The voice is read out by the voice synthesis of the control unit 12 (or displayed on the display unit 13). In the example of FIG.
The text mail from the sender B is read out. (5) If the phone number type is FA
Search for X, and if so, the number of faxes received, incoming time, etc., are voice synthesized (or displayed on display unit 13).
Notify the user by The number of faxes is, for example,
When the message of one page ends, the transmitting terminal sends out a message end signal EOM, which can be obtained by counting this. The reason for notifying the number of received faxes is that the facsimile image data itself is automatically printed and output upon receiving a call even if the user is absent upon receiving the call. This is because, in order to achieve the purpose of summarizing, the FAX reception can be notified only by notifying the user of the number of received faxes. (6) The message of the next sender is reproduced from step (1). The process ends when there is no unplayed call history.

Next, the operation when the user of the answering machine performs the callback operation during the reproduction of the message will be described with reference to FIGS. 1, 4 and 5. FIG. As shown in FIG. 4, when the answering machine 21 on the receiving side performs a callback operation from the operation unit 14 while the message from the sender B is being played back, the sender B of the message being played back is displayed. The telephone number book storage unit 17 is searched by the identification number indicating the telephone number, and all the telephone numbers (mobile phone, home, company, FAX, character mail address, etc.) registered as the numbers possessed by the caller B are retrieved in FIG. Display unit 1 as shown
3 is displayed. If the identification number representing the caller is “not notified of the number”, the display unit 13 displays that the callback cannot be performed.

As a result of the above search, the telephone number book storage unit 17
To another number of the same caller (mobile phone, home, office, fax
Is not registered, or if the identification number indicating the caller is "No number registered", the message playback is suspended after playing the message, and the caller ID of the message is immediately changed to Make a callback.

On the other hand, as a result of the above search, another number of the message sender (mobile phone, home, company, FAX, etc.)
However, as shown in FIG. 4, if the number is registered in the telephone number book storage unit 17, the user of the answering machine 21 selects the number desired to be called back by operating the operation unit 14 (up and down the cursor, etc.). Then, by performing a call operation, a call is made to that number. FIG. 5 shows that the home telephone number is selected by the user as the number for which the user wants to call back, and as a result of the selection, the call is made to the home telephone 22 of the caller B.

When all the telephone numbers registered as the numbers of the message sender are displayed on the display unit 13, the sender number of the message being reproduced at the time of performing the callback operation is displayed. Is set to be initially selected, and the button of the operation unit 14 used for the callback operation and the outgoing operation button are made common. By pressing the button twice during reproduction of the message, Call-back calling to the sender number of the message
This leads to improved operability.

When the reproduction of the message of the matter is completed during the above-mentioned callback transmission operation, the reproduction of the business message is temporarily suspended at that point, and the state of waiting for the completion of the callback transmission operation is set. Conversely, if a callback transmission operation is performed before the end of the message, the message continues to be played until the end of the message. Pause and initiate a callback.

If the unplayed incoming call history remains in the incoming call history storage unit 16 after the callback call ends, the next message is started to be played, and the unplayed incoming call history disappears. Repeat until

Next, the operation of the embodiment of the present invention will be described.
6 to 8 will be described in more detail with reference to FIG. The operation at the time of recording a business message will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 6. If there is an incoming call to the line interface unit 11 when the answering machine is set (step 101 in FIG. 6), the business message is stored in the business message storage unit 15. Recording is started to be recorded in an empty area (for example, a recording area of a reproduced message) (Step 102 in FIG. 6). When the incoming call is a text mail, it is recorded as text data in a free area of the business message storage unit 15. In the case of an incoming fax, the number of received faxes is recorded as data.

Next, it is determined whether or not the caller number has been notified (step 103 in FIG. 6). When the caller number is not notified, a storage area is secured in the incoming call history storage unit 16 together with the identification number indicating "number not notified" (step 104 in FIG. 6). If the caller number has been notified, a search is made to see if the same caller number is registered in the telephone number book storage unit 17 (step 105 in FIG. 6).
If the same number as the caller number is not registered in the telephone number book storage section 17, whether the same caller number has already been recorded in the incoming call history storage section 16 (after entering answering machine mode, the incoming Is searched for (step 106 in FIG. 6).

If the incoming call history recording area for the caller ID is not secured (if the incoming call is received from the caller ID for the first time after entering the answering machine mode), the incoming call history record for the caller ID is recorded. An area is secured in the incoming call history storage unit 16 together with an identification number indicating "number not registered" (step 107 in FIG. 6). On the other hand, if it is determined in step 105 that the caller number that is the same as the caller number is registered in the telephone number book storage unit 17, the call history storage area for the caller is secured in the call history storage unit 16. (Step 108 in FIG. 6) whether or not the call has been received (whether the caller has received a call after entering the answering machine mode).

If the incoming call history storage area for the caller is not secured (when the caller first receives an incoming call after entering the answering machine mode), the incoming call history storage area for the caller is set to Along with an identification number representing the caller (for example, a serial number assigned to each registrant in the telephone number book storage unit 17), it is secured in the incoming call history storage unit (FIG.
Step 109).

If it is determined in steps 106 and 108 that there is already a storage area for the caller in the call history storage section 17, the current call information (call time, caller number, telephone number, etc.) is stored in that storage area. The classification name and the position (address) of storing the message in the storage unit 15 are added (step 110 in FIG. 6). When a new storage area is secured in the incoming call history storage unit 17 in step 104, 107 or 109, the current incoming information (incoming time,
A caller number, a classification name of a telephone number, and a position (address) in the storage unit 15 for storing the business message are added (step 110 in FIG. 6).

In the case of "non-notification of number", the classification name of the caller number and telephone number is an identification number indicating "non-notification of number". In the case of "number not registered", the classification name of the telephone number is an identification number representing "number not registered".

Next, the operation of reproducing the business message recorded in the business message storage unit 15 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. When the user performs a reproduction start operation of the business message from the operation unit 14 (step 201 in FIG. 7), the control unit 12 firstly stores the incoming call history information for each sender stored in the incoming call history storage unit 17. Based on the information (including “unregistered number” and “not notified of number”), a caller to be reproduced next is determined according to some conditions (step 202 in FIG. 7). Conditions for assigning priorities include, for example, the total number of incoming calls (including voice, text mail, and FAX), the latest order of incoming times, the priorities of registered groups (work, friends, and family).

When the caller is determined, the call history information (caller name, call time, caller ID, telephone number classification name, etc.) of the caller is retrieved from the call history storage unit 16 and displayed. It is displayed on the unit 13 (step 203 in FIG. 7).
However, the name of the caller is obtained by searching the telephone number book storage unit 17 using the identification number representing the caller.

If the identification number indicating the caller is "number not registered", only the incoming time and the caller number are displayed. Similarly, if the identification number indicating the caller is “number not notified”, only the incoming time is displayed. At the same time as the display, the name of the caller is read out by the voice synthesis of the control unit 12.
When the identification number representing the caller is “number not registered”, for example, the caller number is read out. If the number is "not notified", it is read that the caller ID was not notified.

When the incoming call history information of the sender to be reproduced is displayed, the next message to be reproduced next is determined from among the messages left by the sender, and is recorded in the message storage 15. The message is reproduced (step 204 in FIG. 7). The message to be played back is determined from the incoming call history of the caller stored in the incoming call history storage unit 16, regardless of the caller number such as home, mobile phone, or company, in the order of incoming calls (= incoming call history storage unit 16). In the order in which they are recorded). Playback of the caller's business message begins first with the voice message.

During the reproduction of the message, the control unit 12 checks whether the user of the answering machine has performed a callback operation from the operation unit 14 (step 205 in FIG. 7), and the callback operation is performed. If not, it is monitored whether or not the callback operation has been performed until the reproduction of the message is completed (step 20 in FIG. 7).
6, 205).

When the reproduction of the above-mentioned message is completed without performing the callback operation, the control unit 12 determines whether or not the reproduction of all the message of the sender is completed (step in FIG. 7). 207). When all of the caller's voice messages have been played, search the received call log for the same caller for a phone number type of text mail. The voice is read out (or displayed on the display unit 13) by the voice synthesis of the control unit 12. Further, it is searched whether the telephone number type is FAX in the received call history of the same caller, and if there is, the number of received faxes, the receiving time, and the like are notified to the user by voice synthesis (or displayed on the display unit 13). Notice. It is checked whether or not a callback operation has been performed even during the reproduction of each of the above message messages (steps 205 to 2 in FIG. 7).
07).

When the reproduction of all the message messages of the caller is completed, the control unit 12 determines whether or not all the histories of the incoming call history storage unit 16 have been reproduced (step 208 in FIG. 7). When there is any incoming call history information recorded in the incoming call history storage unit 16 that has been reproduced, the process returns to step 202 again.
Start playing the message of the next caller. When all the messages recorded in the incoming call history storage unit 16 have been reproduced, the reproduction ends.

On the other hand, if the control unit 12 detects that the user of the answering machine has performed a callback operation from the operation unit 14 during the reproduction of the message in step 205, the caller number of the message is transmitted. Is determined from the incoming call information in the incoming call history storage unit 16 (step 209 in FIG. 7). If the caller ID is "not notified" (when the caller ID is not recorded), the fact that the caller ID is not notified and call back is not possible is displayed on the display unit 13 (step in FIG. 7). 210), the reproduction of the business message continues (step 206 in FIG. 7).

If the caller's number has been recorded, the procedure for determining the number of the callback destination will be described later (FIG. 7).
Step 211). Even when the procedure for determining the number of the callback destination is started, the reproduction of the business message continues until the reproduction of the message of the business is completed (step 212 in FIG. 7). so,
The reproduction of the message is temporarily suspended (step 213 in FIG. 7).

Subsequently, the control unit 12 determines whether or not the callback destination number has been determined (step 214 in FIG. 7). When the callback destination number has been determined, the callback is started (step 215 in FIG. 7). If the destination is a text mail, the text mail is sent. The callback ends,
When the information of the line disconnection is input to the control unit 12 via the line interface unit 11, the control unit 12 transmits another message of the caller who is reproducing (the caller number in the case of "unregistered number"). It is determined from the incoming call history information stored in the incoming call history storage section 16 whether or not (including character mail and fax incoming information) remains (step 207 in FIG. 7). Returning to step 204 of
Start playing the next message from the same caller.

If all the messages of the caller have been reproduced, it is determined whether all the histories recorded in the incoming call history storage section 16 have been reproduced (step 2 in FIG. 7).
08). If there is, the process returns to step 202 again to start reproducing the message of the next sender. When all of the message messages recorded in the incoming call history have been reproduced, the reproduction operation ends (step 20 in FIG. 7).
8).

Next, the procedure for determining the callback destination number in step 211 will be described in more detail with reference to the flowchart of FIG. First, it is determined from the incoming call history storage unit 16 whether or not the caller number has been recorded in the telephone number book storage unit 17 based on the identification number indicating the sender of the message that was being played back when the callback operation was performed ( Step 221 in FIG. 8).

If the identification number representing the caller is "number not registered", the telephone number of the message caller is set as the callback destination number (step 22 in FIG. 7).
2). If the caller number has been recorded in the telephone number book storage section 17, the caller name recorded in the telephone number book storage section 17 and all telephone numbers and telephone numbers registered for the caller Is displayed on the display unit 13 (step 223 in FIG. 8).

Thereafter, the control unit 12 stores the telephone number book storage unit 1
It is determined whether there are a plurality of caller numbers registered in 7 (step 224 in FIG. 8). If the caller number of the caller other than the caller is not recorded, the telephone number of the message sender is set as the callback destination number (step 222 in FIG. 8). In contrast,
If the caller numbers of the callers other than the caller have been recorded, the control unit 12 displays a cursor for selecting the number of the callback destination on the display unit 13 (step 225 in FIG. 8),
The selection cursor is moved in accordance with the operation of the cursor movement button of the operation unit 14 by the user of the answering machine (steps 226 and 227 in FIG. 8).

When the user of the answering machine presses the call button on the operation unit 14, the number at the cursor position is set as the number of the callback destination (step 22 in FIG. 8).
8, 229).

The next callback processing (steps 215 and 216 in FIG. 7) is based on the type of line to which the apparatus is connected (analog line, ISDN line, wireless line, etc.) and the type of the other party (voice, text mail, etc.). , FAX, etc.).

For example, when the callback destination is a voice telephone number, as shown in the flowchart of FIG. 9A, the caller of the business message is first dialed (step 301). When the caller answers the call (step 302), the call is made through a normal sequence (step 303). When the call ends, a disconnection process is performed through a known disconnection sequence (step 304).

Here, each of the above-described steps 301 to 303 will be described in more detail by taking as an example the case where the line to which the present apparatus is connected is an ISDN line. In the ISDN line, call setting, call interruption, disconnection, and the like are performed by a message having a well-known configuration shown in FIG. For example, Step 3
By dialing 01, the call setup message is transmitted from the answering machine to the sender of the business message through the network. When the sender of the business message responds in step 302, a response message is sent from the business message sender to the answering machine through the network. As described above, a call can be made (step 303). These call setup messages and response messages have the configuration shown in FIG.

When the callback destination is a character mail, as shown in the flowchart of FIG.
First, a user of the present apparatus creates a text mail (step 401). Then, in accordance with the transmission operation of the user, the character mail is transmitted to the destination address via a mail server prepared in advance, or the character mail is transmitted to the destination terminal directly via the network, and the generated character mail is transmitted. (Step 402). After the data transmission is completed, disconnection is performed according to a known disconnection sequence (step 40).
3).

For example, if the line to which this device is connected is ISD
In the case of the N line, a method of directly transmitting mail to a partner terminal via a network includes, for example, a method of transmitting the contents of a character mail to the partner terminal as user user information by a user-user signal procedure. A user-user signal procedure is a procedure for transparently transferring information between end-end users using a layer 3 protocol. For example, when transmitting the name of a caller in addition to e-mail. Is also used.

If the line to which the present apparatus is connected is an analog line and the number type of the callback destination is facsimile, the original is read in accordance with the callback operation of the user and then transmitted to the destination. When the other party answers, Figure 1
As shown in FIG. 1, a call setup procedure is performed in phase A,
In the phase B, the terminal prepares for facsimile message transmission by confirming the state of the terminal and the transmission path and controlling the terminal for transmission / reception preparation, display and determination of terminal constants, confirmation of the synchronization state, and the like.

In the next phase C, the facsimile message is transmitted from the answering machine to the message sender. In the subsequent phase D, when the message for one page ends, the transmitting terminal sends out a message end signal EOM. The receiving terminal transmits this message end signal EOM.
Is received, a message confirmation signal MCF is transmitted as a response. The number of pages can be counted by the above-mentioned message end signal EOM. Thereafter, a call recovery (line disconnection) procedure is performed in phase E.

As described above, in this embodiment, when the user of the answering machine wants to call back the caller who left the message, the information registered with respect to the caller who left the message (For example, mobile phone, home, office, and facsimile telephone numbers, text mail addresses, etc.) are retrieved from the telephone number book storage unit 17, displayed on the display unit 13, and the user of the answering machine is displayed. By selecting the number or address to be called back, such as the number or address, the call back (including character mail transmission) can be easily performed by means other than the incoming caller number by means corresponding to the other party's number type.

Also, since the callback operation can be performed during the reproduction of the business message, the user of the answering machine plays back a series of messages in the order of the callers having the highest priority, and sends the message to the caller. On the other hand, whether or not to perform a callback is comprehensively determined, and if a callback is desired, the callback can be immediately performed.

It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment. For example, in the case of non-caller number notification, the information of “number non-notification” is recorded in the incoming call history storage unit 16. This information may be left blank without being recorded, and may be used instead of the “number non-notification” information. When the caller number has not been registered in the telephone number book storage unit 17, the information of “number not registered” is recorded in the incoming call history storage unit 16, but this information is not recorded and is left blank. May be substituted for the “number not registered” information.

In the data structure of the incoming call history storage section 16, the identification number indicating the sender and the incoming call history from the sender are collectively managed, but other data structures may be used. For example, only the position (address) in the message storage 15 that stores the caller ID, the time of arrival and the message is stored for each incoming call, and when the message is played back, the incoming history storage is used. 16
May be searched for a caller with a higher priority or a message to be reproduced may be determined.

In the above embodiment, the reproduction message and the information such as the character mail and the number of received faxes are stored in the same message storage unit 15.
They may be stored in separate storage units. For example,
Voice messages are recorded on magnetic tape, and text mail and F
The number of received AXs may be stored in the main body memory. In addition, one or both of the number of facsimile calls and facsimile image data may be stored in the business message storage unit 15 or the main body memory instead of or in addition to the number of received faxes.

Further, the image data of the videophone may be stored in the message storage unit 15. If there is no message and only the incoming call information, the incoming call information of that case may be deleted from the incoming call history storage unit 16, or the incoming call information alone may be left to the user of the answering machine to receive the incoming call. You may tell them that you did. Also, it has been described that the reproduction is started in order from the information of the caller with the highest priority.For example, the names of the callers of the received call are listed and displayed in the order of the highest priority, and the user of the answering machine sets the list. I want to see (receive) incoming information such as messages from inside
By selecting a person, notification of the incoming information and message of the person may be started.

Further, if the user of the answering machine performs a callback operation during the reproduction of the message, the call is not transmitted until the message of the message ends, but the number of the callback destination is not transmitted. As soon as is determined, the reproduction of the message being reproduced may be temporarily suspended and a callback may be transmitted. Reproduction of the business message after the end of the call may be resumed from where it was interrupted, or reproduction may be started from the next business message.

Further, the user of the answering machine sets
If a callback operation is performed during playback of the message, the message for that message ends, and when the number of the callback destination is determined, a callback is immediately made.
The callback transmission may be performed collectively after all the message messages have been reproduced. In this case, the operation of determining the number of the callback destination may be performed collectively after the reproduction of all the business message. In the case of a facsimile, the fact that callback is not possible may be displayed on the display unit 13.

[0074]

As described above, according to the present invention,
By managing incoming information for each caller name, even if a single caller has multiple phone numbers, incoming calls from each phone number or mail address are not classified separately, And collectively manages the message messages stored in the first storage unit with the message messages from the same sender to the user of the answering machine. , The message can be easily conveyed to the user, and messages other than voice messages (text mail, fax, etc.)
But you can convey messages from the same sender all at once.

Further, according to the present invention, when the message is reproduced, the sender name of the message to be reproduced in accordance with a predetermined priority is selected from the outgoing telephone numbers stored in the third storage unit. Since the decision is made and all the message messages of the sender name are reproduced in the order of priority, the user can easily know the priority such as the urgency from the order of the reproduced caller names.

Further, according to the present invention, the operation of the callback is performed during the reproduction of the message, so that the user of the answering machine confirms the message and collects the necessity of the callback. The caller ID you want to call back,
Callback can be sent immediately.

Further, according to the present invention, all telephone numbers registered in the second storage unit for the caller who left the business message by the user are displayed on the display unit. By allowing the user to select a phone number as the number to call back, the user can easily call back (including text mail) besides the incoming phone number, making calls over a wider area than before. You can send back.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of an embodiment of an answering machine according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an operation of the embodiment of the present invention at the time of an incoming call;

FIG. 3 is an operation explanatory diagram in a case where a user knows a priority order such as an urgency level from the order of incoming call information to be reproduced in an embodiment of the present invention device.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an operation when a user of the answering machine performs a callback operation during reproduction of a message in the embodiment of the apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram of an operation at the time of callback in one embodiment of the device of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the embodiment of the present invention at the time of an incoming call;

FIG. 7 is a flowchart for explaining the operation at the time of a message message reproduction start operation according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 8 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of a callback destination number determining procedure in FIG. 7;

FIG. 9 is a flowchart for explaining a callback process when the number type of the callback destination is a voice telephone number and when the type is a text mail.

FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of a configuration of a message transmitted on an ISDN line.

FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example of a callback process when the number type of the callback destination is facsimile.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 Line interface part 12 Control part 13 Display part 14 Operation part 15 Business message storage part 16 Received call history storage part 17 Telephone number book storage part 20 Calling terminal 21 Receiving answering machine 22 Callback destination terminal

──────────────────────────────────────────────────の Continued on the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification symbol FI theme coat ゛ (reference) H04M 11/10 H04M 11/10 H04N 1/00 H04N 1/00 CF term (reference) 5C062 AA02 AA12 AA30 AB20 AB25 AB26 AB42 AC05 AC22 AC42 AC58 AE01 AE02 AE07 AE11 AE15 AF01 AF03 AF07 5K027 AA00 BB01 EE04 GG08 HH23 5K036 AA00 AA15 BB01 DD11 DD33 DD35 DD38 DD48 JJ04 JJ05 JJ13 KK14 EJ04 EK04 KK01 LL04 5K039 BB00 NN18 NN21 PP03 PP05 PP10 RR12

Claims (10)

[Claims] When a caller number of an incoming call is notified, a detecting means for detecting the caller number, a first storage unit for storing a business message and a character mail, and a name of each person who is assumed to receive the call And one or more telephone numbers including the character mail address of each person, a second storage unit storing the telephone numbers in a corresponding manner in advance, and an incoming call during the answering machine mode. A third storage unit for temporarily storing call information; and a message message from the caller stored in the first storage unit during the answering machine mode. When the number is notified, search whether the caller number is stored in the second storage unit,
When it is stored, the incoming call information is stored in the area of the third storage unit for the caller name having the caller number, and when the caller number is not stored in the second storage unit, Control means for storing incoming information in an area of the third storage unit as unregistered, and a display unit for displaying the incoming information, wherein the third storage unit stores the incoming information for each caller name An answering machine which is stored and managed in a telephone. 2. The control means, when the caller number from the caller is not notified by the detection means, an incoming time in the area of the third storage unit and the caller in the first storage unit. 2. The answering machine according to claim 1, wherein the storage unit stores a message message storage location and the number non-notification information. 3. The control means, when the caller number notified from the detection means is stored in the second storage section, an incoming time, the notified caller number, The classification name of the telephone number obtained from the second storage unit and the message storage location of the message from the caller in the first storage unit are stored in the third storage unit, and the call transmitted from the detection unit is notified. When the caller number is not stored in the second storage unit, an incoming time, a notified caller number, and a message message from the caller in the first storage unit are stored as the unregistered incoming call information. 2. The answering machine according to claim 1, wherein an identification number indicating a position and a number not registered is stored in an area of said third storage unit. 4. The method according to claim 1, wherein the control unit is configured to reproduce a business message stored in the first storage unit in accordance with a predetermined priority from among caller numbers stored in the third storage unit. A first step of determining the sender name of the message to be reproduced, and sequentially reproducing all the message stored in the first storage unit with the sender name determined in the first step 2. The answering machine according to claim 1, further comprising: means for repeating the second step of performing for all history information stored in the third storage unit. 3. 5. The system according to claim 1, wherein the control unit is configured to, when reproducing the business message stored in the first storage unit, determine whether or not the caller number recorded in the third storage unit is unregistered. 3. The answering machine according to claim 1, wherein only the number and the incoming time are displayed on the display unit, and only the incoming time is displayed on the display unit for the caller number recorded as the number non-notification. 6. The first storage unit further stores, as data, at least one of the number of sheets of facsimile reception, the number of receptions, and facsimile image data, and the second storage unit also stores a facsimile telephone number. The answering machine according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein: 7. The video camera according to claim 1, wherein the first storage unit further stores image data of a videophone, and the second storage unit also stores a videophone telephone number. An answering machine according to any one of the preceding claims. 8. A third operation unit having an operation unit for performing a callback operation, wherein the control unit detects whether there is an operation input of the callback from the operation unit during reproduction of the business message. And, when the callback operation input is detected, the callback destination number only when the caller number of the message being reproduced is notified in the incoming call information stored in the third storage unit. And a fifth step of temporarily interrupting the reproduction of the message after playing back the message being reproduced when the callback operation input is detected or immediately starting the callback. 2. The answering machine according to claim 1, further comprising the steps of: 9. The method according to claim 4, wherein the callback destination number is determined when the caller name of the message being reproduced at the time of performing the callback operation is not registered in the second storage unit. Determines the phone number of the message sender as the number of the call-back destination, and when registered in the second storage unit, causes all the phone numbers of the registered sender name to be displayed on the display unit. 9. The answering machine according to claim 8, wherein the one telephone number selected by using the operation unit is determined as a callback destination number. 10. The start of the callback according to the fifth step includes the step of reproducing the business message that is being reproduced when the callback operation input is detected, and the step of reproducing the message stored in the first storage unit. 9. The answering machine according to claim 8, wherein said answering operation is performed after all the message messages of the same sender as the message message are reproduced.